[1]     The orders were to place those who would not volunteer under arrest or to press them involuntarily into service, but shirkers were openly despised and orders were known to be interpreted liberally. Goodrich rightfully sensed that his life was in danger, caught as he was between two colliding armies.

[2]    While most of the Federal army under General Steele remained on the north side of the Arkansas River, three brigades of cavalry under General Davidson crossed the river east of Little Rock on a pontoon bridge that was completed earlier on the morning of 10 September 1863. By 11:00, General Price realized that his troops were in serious danger of being outflanked and cut off north of the Arkansas River so he began to withdraw them and evacuate the city.  

[3]    In his diary entry on 10 September 1863, Private James B. Lockney of Company G, 28th Wisconsin, wrote that he marched “leisurely” with the majority of the Federal army “along the [north] river bank [towards Little Rock]. About noon, he said they “heard some very heavy volleys of musketry on the other side of the river as the cavalry & artillery drove the Rebels... Cannonading on both sides of the river was quite rapid at intervals through the whole day.” As darkness fell, Lockney recorded that his unit was “camped opposite the city which was occupied by Davidson’s cavalry, which did nearly all the fighting that was done.” The following morning, Lockney noted that “we see with joy our flag float over the town in triumph.” Source: Private collection of James R. Shirey. Used with permission.

[4]    Annie E. Cowgill, a young woman living in Little Rock, bid her Confederate artillerist beau goodbye as he evacuated the city with Price’s army and then recorded in her diary that “the cannon balls & shells began to whistle over the house that nearly scared me to death.” Watching from the window, she added that “the Federals came in town whooping and yelling like wild cats.”  Source:  Lorraine Blore Ragland Collection, Special Collections, U. of Arkansas Libraries.

[5]    Louisa Petett (1833-1869) was the widow of 31 year-old cotton planter William Adamson, another son of John Adamson.

[6]    Fixing the locks on the school room was undoubtedly an effort to prevent looting or having union troops turn them into sleeping quarters.

[7]    Wilhelmine Lange was the 32 year-old sister of either Ernest Weidemann or his wife Thea. Wilhelmine was either divorced or separated from her husband “Paddy” Lange.

[8]    Probably Harriet Francis [Booker] Green (1819-1902), the widow of Rev. Joshua Fry Green (1820-1854)

[9]    On Friday, 11 September 1863, Pvt. James B. Lockney of Co. G, 28th Wisconsin, recorded in his diary that he went to Arkansas River to bathe and found the water to be “very shallow, about 3 ½ to 5 feet” in depth. Source: Private collection of James R. Shirey. Used by permission.

[10]    Not clear how and when James Goodrich suffered a “fall” as there is no mention of it elsewhere. Perhaps he fell off his horse and suffered a head injury that had gone untreated while in the Federal service.

[11]    According to the book, Rugged and Sublime, “On September 14, [Gen.] Steele ordered elements of the Fifth Kansas Cavalry to Pine Bluff. On the nineteenth, he wrote to General Hurlbut that ‘a deputation of the most respectable citizens of Pine Bluff …requested me to keep a force there to protect them against the depredations of the rebels.’  In a subsequent letter, he wrote that these citizens ‘expressed a great desire that trade should be opened soon, [so] that they might save their cotton from the burners that are dashing on them occasionally.’  Steele responded by sending the remainder of the Fifth Kansas and the First Indiana Cavalry, bringing the total Federal force in Pine Bluff to 550 men.” Thus it was that Goodrich could find his brother in the camp of the Fifth Kansas Cavalry near Little Rock on the 16th and 17th of September but not two days later after the remainder of the unit had been sent to Pine Bluff, Arkansas.  Source: Rugged and Sublime, Edited by Mark K. Christ, page 96. 

[12]    Colonel John L. Chandler, formerly the commander of the 7th Missouri (Federal) Cavalry, was appointed Provost Marshal-General of all four military districts established in Arkansas. While responsible for all, he took personal charge of the Central Arkansas District which included Little Rock. His general duties were to “reestablish law and order in [Federally] occupied areas, gather intelligence on guerrillas, administer loyalty oaths, and reinforce the legitimacy of the United States government in Arkansas. Specific tasks also included arresting “stragglers and deserters and forwarding them to their Regiments, the suppressing of brawls, bawdy houses, drunkenness and disorderly conduct,” and arresting “spies, smugglers, disloyal and dangerous persons [and] carrying [out] sentences including execution.”  Source: Bushwackers, Provosts, and Tories, by Robert R. Mackey, page 174.  

[13]    In his diary, Pvt. James B. Lockney of the 28th Wisconsin recorded on this same date that he too, along with some others from his unit, “went to the Presbyterian Church [in Little Rock] where there were a few residents present & very many Soldiers & Officers so that the house was crowded, but all had seats. The Sermon was of moderate length & ability, and very guarded and non-committall. The music was good (so far as I could judge) both vocal & instrumental. The instrument was a melodeon. A China missionary was to preach at 3 p.m. but I did not feel well enough to go…”  Goodrich’s diary entry suggest that he attended the afternoon service rather than the morning service but the subject matter is not corroborated by Lockney’s diary.  Source: Private collection of James R. Shirey. Used by permission.

[14]    Soldiers in the Federal army occupying Little Rock were anxious to collect souvenirs and offered U.S. federal greenbacks in exchange for heavily discounted Confederate bills.

[15]    It is possible that the “Federal Preacher” Goodrich refers to in his diary entry of 27 September is Rev. Ebenezer S. Peake – a chaplain in the 28th Wisconsin Regiment that was camped near the Federal Arsenal in Little Rock as part of the occupying force. It is clear that Goodrich and Peake became friends as there are numerous subsequent references to him in Goodrich’s diary.